Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 72

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 72

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Superintendent Saunders until 1836. In 1835 the common school law was adopted, and in time a good system of schools was built up, but almost continuously there has been a private school conducter under the various titles of high school, academy or college. The Zelienople select school of 1845 was presided over by Rev. L. F. Leake, and the Connoquenessing Academy, under Dr. G. Bassler, C. G. Holls and Jo- siah R. Titzell, soon followed. Dr. Amos Lusk, among the foremost business men and citizens, was a man of scholarly attain- ments and was always a friend to the edu- cational institutions, which he did much to bring into being and improve. In April, 1883, after title to the old school on the Diamond had been proved faulty, a fine new school building was erected at the head of Main Street. The school building has seven rooms, with seven teachers, in- cluding the principal, F. A. McClung, and an enrollment of 305 pupils. The high school course has recently been raised from a three to a four years' course.

The borough of Zelienople was incor- porated in 1840, and Dr. Orrin D. Palmer was the first burgess. The first justices of the peace were Christian Buhl and John Levis.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized as a German Lutheran church in 1822, with H. W. Goehring, Cas- per O. Muller and P. L. Passavant as trustees. The first pastor was Rev. J. C. G. Schweitzerbarth, who served as such for nearly thirty years. A stone meeting- house, constructed of native sandstone and of Gothic design, was dedicated June 10, 1827, and is still in a good state of pre- servation. The church now has about 200 communicants. The church property con- sists of three acres, donated by P. L. Pas- savant, and is devoted to the church build- ing, the cemetery and the parsonage, which latter was remodeled in 1907. The present pastor is Rev. Frederick H. Myer.

The United Presbyterian Church was or- ganized April 7, 1895, with twenty-four charter members. Rev. Edward S. Littell became pastor January 4, 1901, when the membership numbered forty-eight. Since then there has been a steady growth, and there are now 104 members, with a Sab- bath school enrollment of sixty-five. The church building was erected at a cost of about $9,000.

The English Lutheran Church was or- ganized January 21, 1843. A plain brick church was erected, and on July 6, 1845, was dedicated. It was the home of the congregation until the new and modern brick church was completed. The latter was dedicated on April 28, 1884. Rev. Bassler was the first pastor and continued with the church until April, 1864, when he resigned to enter upon his duties as su- perintendent of the Orphans' Home. Dur- ing his pastorate the church society was in- corporated, the date being June 16, 1860. In 1904 the present handsome church edi- fice was erected at a cost of about $25,000. It is a fine stone structure of modern archi- tecture. The present pastor, Rev. L. J. Baker, has served the congregation since November, 1905. The church now has a membership of 275, with a Sunday school of 233, and is in a very prosperous condi- tion.

The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1845 by Rev. L. F. Leake. Meetings dur- ing the first decade of its existence were held in the Baptist or Methodist church, or in the schoolhouses of Zelienople and Har- mony. A church building was erected in 1885, and Rev. Webber was installed as pastor. He continued until 1863, and was succeeded by Rev. D. D. Christy (stated supply), and others.

St. Peter's Evangelical Protestant Church (independent) was organized and built in 1858, with Rev. E. F. Winter as the first pastor, who served the congregation over twenty-two years. The Rev. O. D.

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Miller, who is the present pastor, succeeded Rev. Ebbinghaus in 1900, and under his able ministrations the church has increased its membership to 434, with a Sunday school enrollment of one hundred and twenty-five.

The United Evangelical Church, known as the German United Evangelical Protest- ant Congregation of St. Peter's Church of the borough of Zelienople, was organized January 1, 1859, by Rev. E. F. Winter, and in 1861 a frame church building was erected at a cost of $3,000. The society was incorporated in January, 1873. Prior to the erection of the church services were held in the Presbyterian church.

Monroe Chapel of the Methodist Episco- pal Church was organized at Zelienople, and on March 24, 1862, was incorporated. The place of meeting was moved to Har- mony in 1880.

St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church was erected in 1906 and is located in Zelie- nople Extension. It has a resident pastor and gives promise of being a strong and permanent organization.

ORPHANS' HOME AND ORPHANS' FARM SCHOOL.

[Compiled mostly from Rev. Dr. H. W. Roth's "Fifty Years Among the Or- phans."]

In 1849 Pastor Theodore Fliedner of Kaiserwerth, Germany, came to Pittsburg, Pa., at the earnest solicitation of the Rev. W. A. Passavant, of blessed memory, to take part in the dedication of The Pitts- burgh Infirmary, and to begin a Deaconess Mother House in America.

At a little gathering of friends in the home of a Pittsburgh German pastor, Flied- ner urged the duty of providing also for the care of the orphan children. At this little gathering one of the company placed a dol- lar into the hands of this German pastor, saying: "Here you have a beginning for an Orphans' Home." A few years later this lone dollar was given "in trust" to the Rev. Passavant.

HOW THE ORPHANS AND THE HOME CAME.

In the Infirmary a German clergyman died. Also a Swiss schoolmaster, and others. Pitiful were their prayers for the boys and girls, their children, whom they left homeless as they themselves had been.

While in London, three years before Fliedner's visit to Pittsburgh, Rev. Pas- savant found refuge from a sudden shower in a Jewish Orphanage. His heart was strangely moved, and there the good Spirit of God awakened and deepened a purpose to begin at home some work of like char- acter. And now that orphans were sent, it was resolved in humble reliance upon the Father of the fatherless, to care for those homeless children. In April, 1852, Sister C. Louisa Marthens, the first American deaconess, was appointed matron, and the first Orphans' Home began in the Infirm- ary buildings, corner Roberts and Reed streets, Pittsburgh, Pa.

ORPHANS' FARM SCHOOL, ZELIENOPLE, PA.

The Rev. Paul Anderson brought two boys and a girl, the children of Norwegian parents who died in Chicago, and these were the first admissions to the newly or- ganized Home. From Pittsburgh the rav- ages of cholera sent many children, and the Home was full.

In September, 1852, Rev. Passavant and the Rev. Gottlieb Bassler purchased from Joseph Zeigler some twenty-five acres near Zelienople, and entered upon the establish- ment of The Orphans' Farm School. In 1853 the director's house was built and other improvements made.

In April, 1854, Rev. G. Bassler, A. M., took charge as director, and moved from Middle Lancaster, Penna., into the new residence. In May, 1854, Mr. Asa H. Waters, a student of theology, opened the Academy in the property of Rev. C. G. Schweitzerbarth. Into this eight boys were brought from the Home in Pittsburgh. The excellent mother of Mr. Waters looked after the housekeeping of the family, and

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Mr. J. Q. Waters, a student at the Acad- emy, had oversight of the boys at their work on the little farm and at their studies.

THE BUILDING OF THE PARENT HOUSE.

This was a big undertaking with only seventy-five cents in the treasury. But these men of faith went forward, and July 4, 1854, many people in attendance, and with appropriate services and addresses, the corner-stone was laid, notable as the first event of the kind in the whole Lu- theran church of America.

FELLOW LABORERS AT THE ORPHANS' FARM SCHOOL.

In November, 1855, Mr. C. G. Holls, a pupil of Dr. Wichern of "Das Rauhe Haus" fame, was duly installed as head master and house father in the newly fin- ished Parent House. For eleven years he discharged the duties of his position with marked ability. During the illness of the Rev. G. Bassler, the first director, Rev. G. W. Frederick, then pastor of the church at Zelienople, efficiently served the interests of the Home. Mr. David L. Debendarfer was called as assistant to the director, and on the lamented death of Rev. G. Bassler, Oct. 3, 1868, was chosen director. Until called to his reward in 1877, the Rev. Deb- endarfer and his devoted wife faithfully performed the difficult duties of their re- sponsible positions.

In the spring of 1878 the Rev. J. A. Kribbs, A. M., with his estimable wife as matron, entered the Orphans' Farm School as third director, and began the successful service which has been continued for over thirty years. The girls remained in their Pittsburgh Home after the boys had gone to Zelienople, until May, 1862, when they moved to Rochester, Pa., where houses had been built for their residence in families.

In 1895 the Orphans' Home at Rochester was united with the Orphans' Farm School at. Zelienople, and the two bands became one, the girls becoming inmates of the in-

stitution under the care of Rev. and Mrs. J. A. Kribbs.

This Home is clearly a child of Provi- dence. God has graciously and tenderly cared for every want, in His own time and in His own way. During the fifty-four years of trial, struggle and triumph of God's cause, the orphans in this Home have never wanted, but every day received their "daily bread." The great founder of this Home, that man of God, the Rev. W. A. Passavant, D. D., in prayer and faith for forty years stood between the helpless and the Great Helper, pleading the cause of the destitute, friendless or- phans, and they have been cared for, clothed and fed.

The following facts in the history of these homes are worthy of note. In the early beginnings of this beneficent work twenty-five acres of land were purchased for the uses of an Orphans' Home, and a $25,000 building erected thereon and paid for. Later one hundred acres of land, and again two hundred and seventy-five acres of land, were purchased and paid for. In December, 1862, the first building was de- stroyed by fire. Another central building, with additional dormitories and school building, was erected at a cost of some $20,000 and paid for. Again, in 1889, the second building was destroyed by fire. This was rebuilt and enlarged, and with recent additional new buildings and improvements at a cost of $30,000 or more, and all paid for. Today the beautiful farm and wood- land of four hundred acres and all our buildings stand free of debt.

It is also worthy of note that in all these years our Homes have never had a finan- cial agent out in the field collecting funds. It is true the cause of the orphans has been brought before our churches, Sunday schools and individual friends, and appeals have been made through church papers, circulars and reports. The support dur- ing all these more than fifty years has come from the gratuitous responses of the

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consecrated hearts and hands of God's people.

The Orphans' Home founded in Pitts- burgh by Rev. W. A. Passavant, D. D., and the Orphans' Farm School founded in Ze- lienople, more than fifty years ago, are to be measured not only by the acual work done here, but rather by the influences put in motion, and the impetus given to or- phan work throughout the Lutheran church in this country and also among other Protestant denominations. These Orphan Homes were the first of their kind for many years among the Protestant churches. To- day there are some fifty orphanages in the Lutheran church and quite a number among other Protestant churches.

In the good Providence of God, the sainted Dr. Passavant, who was called to his eternal home June 3, 1894, sowed the good seed which sprung up, grew and spread its branches. It is true, "one sow- eth and another reapeth," but "both he that soweth and he that reapeth rejoice together," and "shall reap fruit unto life eternal." All praise to God for whatever good has been done in this great field of beneficence.

The Rev. J. A. Kribbs, after a service of more than thirty years, as director, re- tires January 1, 1909, and the Rev. Charles W. White, duly elected by the board of . managers as director of these homes, en- ters upon the duties and responsibilities of this office at the same date, January 1, 1909.

THE OLD PEOPLES' HOME OF THE PITTSBURG SYNOD OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN ZELIENOPLE, PENN- SYLVANIA.

The Lutheran Church is noted for its numerous institutions of mercy in all parts of the United States, and there are sev- eral such in Butler County and the adjoin- ing county of Allegheny. But until quite recently there was not among them any home for old people; but the Pittsburg

Synod had for a number of years in con- templation the founding of such a home, and made all the preliminary arrange- ments about three years ago. And in the spring of 1907 a dwelling-house was rented for the accommodation of several persons who had asked to be cared for, and the temporary home was placed under the care of an experienced and trusted deaconess, Sister Katherine Foerster. Eight acres of land were purchased for the permanent home, but at that juncture the very valu- able gift was received from Mrs. Jane R. Passavant of a beautful oak grove of ten acres adjoining the eight acres and front- ing 540 feet on Main Street in the village, which gives the institution an ideal loca- tion.

On this ground two beautiful memorial cottages have been erected by a gentleman notable for his works of charity; and the board of managers have finished Sections One and Two of the ultimate large struc- ture. These buildings are substantial and beautiful and are equipped with all the latest improvements and appliances of such institutions. The amount invested at the present time is fully $45,000.

The Zelienople Flouring Mills, of which C. B. Harper is proprietor, has a capacity of fifty barrels of flour and fifteen tons of feed daily. The first mill on the site was erected in the early part of the nineteenth century, and was operated for many years by water power, but for the last forty years both steam and water power have ben used. The present building was erected in 1853 by John Herr. The mill subse- quently became the property of Albert Seidel, who owned and operated it for about forty years, when, in 1891, it was purchased by its present owner, Mr. Har- per. The latter also owns a large feed store in Zelienople, which is doing a pros- perous business.

The Iron City Sanitary Manufacturing Company was organized in 1899. Its officers are A. A. Fraunenheim, president; J. A.

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general offices in Pittsburg. The plant oc- cupies twelve acres and gives employment to six hundred men. The manufactured product consists of plumbers' supplies and enameled ware and commands a wide and increasing market. The company owns considerable property in the west end of the borough and has made some notable improvements, building a number of cot- tage homes. It is the largest manufactur- ing concern in Zelienople.

There are several other manufacturing concerns beginning operations in Zelie- nople, among them the Specialty Foundry Company and the Kerner Manufacturing Company.

Among the leading merchants are the following: Chas. E. Reed and Alpheas Sitler, druggists ; A. Seaton & Son, lumber; P. C. Frederick, proprietor of the Stahl Distillery; H. W. Kauffman, boots and shoes ; Geo. King, confectioner ; John Blum, shoe store; the Herman Pneumatic Ma- chine Company, incorporated in 1906, with a capital stock of $75,000; J. J. Kennedy, groceries and builders' supplies ; Zenas McMichael (J. P.), real estate and insur- ance; Edwin Meeder, general merchandise ; Fred Zehner, farm implements and feed store; H. E. Dean & Co., clothiers; A. H. Meeder, dry goods; Fred Eyles, music store; John E. Koeher, proprietor of the Connoquenessing Valley News; J. Din- dinger & Son, dry goods; F. S. Goehring, tinner; G. Householder, farm implements ; A. Latshaw & Son, grocers; H. G. McCim, merchant; Edwin Zehner, furniture and undertaking; Zelienople Hardware Co .; B. M. Hildebrand, clothing; Solomon's Cloth- ing Store, and Hess and Son, merchant tailors. Doctors, A. G. Duncan, R. E. Gal- lagher and.F. W. Cunningham have up-to- date dental parlors, while among the lead- ing physicians are Drs. A. V. Cunningham, S. E. Ralston, R. A. Reed and John A. Kerr.

The new Hotel Stokey, proprietor, Henry W. Stokey, is an up-to-date, well

equipped hostelry. The Stokey House, con- ducted by William and A. G. Eicholtz, is also doing a successful business.

The Peoples National Bank commenced business in October, 1904, and is operated under a capital of $50,000. Its present of- ficers are C. J. D. Strohecker, president ; W. J. Lamberton, vice president; A. B. Crawford, cashier, and E. P. Young, as- sistant cashier. Its directors are all men of business ability and experience.

The First National Bank of Zelienople began business in 1881 and was organized as a national bank in 1902. Its capital is $50,000. It is now in its twenty-eighth year of successful banking. Every accom- modation consistent with conservative banking is accorded to its patrons. The officers are H. M. Wise, president; C. B. Harper, vice president; C. S. Passavant, vice president; W. H. Gelbach, cashier ; H. Kloffenstein, assistant cashier.

Zelienople has two systems of telephone service-the Bell and the Peoples of But- ler, which is associated with the P. & A. telephone system of Pittsburg, with an ex- change near Zelienople.

The borough has an efficient Volunteer Fire Department, under the command of Chief M. S. Shaw; also an adequate water plant, which was installed at a cost of $27,- 000. There are over five miles of sewer- age, $4,500 having been spent for this pur- pose during 1908.

The B. & O. Railroad and the B. R. & P. R. R. furnish steam railroad service, the latter entering the borough over the tracks of the B. & O. The P., H., B. & N. C. Railway furnishes electric communica- tion with outlaying points.

Zelienople has a commodious opera house, located on the second floor of the First National Bank Building.

The fraternal orders are represented by the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, etc., the lodges being all in a pros- perous condition.

Captain Wilson Post, No. 496, G. A. R.,

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

was organized March 23, 1883, with twelve charter members.

Major L. C. Brinton Camp, No. 221, Sons of Veterans, was established at Zelienople in October, 1888, with J. F. Knapp as cap- tain, and Cyrus Ruby and George Kradel as lieutenants.

The Women's Christian Temperance Union was organized May 24, 1886, its first officials being Mrs. F. G. Frishkorn, presi- dent; Mrs. C. S. Passavant, vice-president ; Eliza Bastian, secretary, and Mrs. H. M. Bentle, treasurer.

Town Officials .- Burgess, Chas. Stokey; councilmen, E. P. Young, Chas. S. Passa- vant, Jr., Wm. Frishkorn, A. G. Eicholtz, H. E. Seaton, Jacob Gelbach, Gillert Goeh- ring; borough clerk, Dr. F. W. Cunning- ham; tax collector, Geo. Householder; borough treasurer, A. B. Crawford; water works superintendent, John Lauten ; school directors, Rev. Hugh Leith, Dr. S. E. Rals- ton, Geo. King, Chas. Gallagher, Fred Frishkorn, Wm. A. Swain; justices of the peace, Zenas McMichael, H. N. Teeples ; constable, John Loten; chief of police, Ed- ward Knauff.

EVANS CITY.

This borough, incorporated in 1882, dates back as a settlement to the pioneer days, when it was known as Boggs' Mill. It was surveyed and laid out by William Purviance for Thomas B. Evans in 1838, and was thereafter known as Evansburg until it received its present appellation. Although an old settlement, its advance- ment was slow and uncertain until the ad- vent of the railroad in 1878, since which time its growth has been phenomenal. Its population of sixty-eight in 1880 could al- most be multiplied by ten in 1890, the cen- sus of that year showing it to be 637. It was nearly doubled in the next decade, with a population of 1,203 in 1900, and is about 1,500 at the present time (January, 1909). The total assessed value of Evans City is $66,727.

The borough is located on Breakneck Creek, lying partly in Jackson and partly in Forward Townships. Before white set- tlement had been made, the site was a fa- vorite Indian camping ground, the red men giving the name of Big Beaver Run to the creek. The French, however, knew it as Casse-cou-anse, or Breakneck Creek, a name which survived the times.

Robert Boggs, in 1796, exchanged a mare for 400 acres of land and erected a log cabin where now is a store in Evans City. He opened a tavern, the nearest settlement at that time being Duncan's tavern, six miles away. He was followed here soon after by John Dunn, John Rea, and Will- iam and Michael Martin. In 1804 the Boggs mill was built, and although it was a rude structure and crude in its equip- ment, it was kept very busy, being a valu- able adjunct to the community. Major Reese Evans worked in this mill for some years prior to 1820, and under him Thomas B. Evans learned the trade. The latter, in 1836, purchased the mill and 200 acres of Boggs, and in 1838 built the new mill and had the town laid out. His death occurred within a few years, before he had a chance to make a success of his venture in town building. His widow subsequently mar- ried Jacob Balkams and moved away.

The first store here was started by John Rea, whose success as a merchant led to his embarking in the hotel business. His son, William Rea, of Adams Township, was one of the prominent early-day politi- cians of Butler County. John Rea finally traded his hotel for the farm of John O'Connor, whose success in the business did not prove so good. He rented to W. H. Johnston, who was a son-in-law of Michael Martin. Mr. Martin kept store in Harmony before moving here, as did Jona- than Ransom. Thomas Wilson, a large land owner of Jackson Township, moved to the village and was one of the first to build after it was laid out. Thomas McQuoil and Samuel Bishop were early shoemakers

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in this district; and Joseph McIlwain, who was known to the settlers as "the generous peddler," became a merchant of the place. He for twenty-five years made weekly trips to Pittsburg with farm produce, return- ing with dry goods, notions and groceries for his trade. Other early residents, many of whom did not remain long, were William and Josiah Logan, brothers-in-law of Thomas B. Evans ; "Big Dan" and "Little Dan" McIntosh; the McCunes ; Joseph Mc- Allister, the wheelwright; Samuel Kirk, the justice; a man named Turk, who was working on an invention to run machinery by sand; the Balkams; James Wilson, an apothecary ; Kade Miller, a school teacher ; Thomas Reed, a blacksmith; Jonas Bo- lander, who cast aside his trade as a wa- gonmaker and engaged in school teaching; Henry Barkey, local preacher of the Church of God and one of the early mer- chants here, who afterward founded the town of Barkeyville; John Barkey, who conducted a store here; James Harbaugh, a horse trader; Joseph Harbaugh, for years the leading blacksmith and a re- spected citizen; Henry Mickley, a freighter and huckster, who became established in the hotel business in the fifties, and Abra- ham Huntzberger. John Kane, a stone- mason by trade, in the early years cut the markings on the headstones in the ceme- tery. He established a quarry near the Plains. church in Adams Township, and after years of solitude moved to Evans- burg. He built an air furnace, much to the curiosity of the people and more to their surprise when a moulder named Symming- ton pronounced it practical and rented it. Mr. Symmington carried on a successful business in plows, points, stoves and other necessary articles of hardware until the Kane Furnace was burned out. In 1843 Joseph McIlwain established a tannery, and in 1844 employed Lewis Gansz, who had previously been foreman in the Harmony tannery and also operated Magee's tan- nery on the Connoquenessing. Mr. Gansz

purchased the plant in 1849 and operated it until he was succeeded in the business by his son, who continued for some years.

Dr. Cornell was the first local practi- tioner of medicine and his opportunities were great, as the nearest competitor was at Harmony. He remained but a short time. The next to locate here was Dr. Will- iam Sterrett, who prospered, as did his successor, Dr. William Irvine.

The first hotel with any pretensions of class was the one established by Henry Stokey in 1864, in the old Randolph House, and four years later J. N. Miller, who had been a shoemaker, entered the business. Eight years later the latter erected one of the finest hotels in the county, at that time, giving it the name of the Miller House. The roof was carried away in the storm of August 19, 1880, and the building other- wise damaged, but at a considerable ex- pense the damage was immediately re- paired. Charles H. Miller succeeded to the ownership of this hotel in 1891, and in 1893 made further extensive improvements in the building and its furnishings. The Central House, opposite the Miller House, was opened up by Henry W. Stokey in 1881, who conducted it until 1888. It was later conducted by Jacob Hyle under the name of the Hyle House. The Commer- cial Hotel is now conducted by G. A. Gehm.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 72

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526